Improvement in machines for burnishing the edges of soles of boots and shoes



. 2 Sheets--Shet1-. F. CURTIS.

Improvement in Machines for Burnishingthe Edges of Soles of Boots andShoes. .No, 13O,,1()9, Patented A ug. 6,1872.

AM. P/ UTU-UTHUGIMPNM MMX/OSEORNFS PROCESS) mlfnewea'.

2'Sheet's--She-et2. F. CURTIS.

Improvement in Machines for Burnishing the Edges of Soles of Boots andShoes. I No, 130,109,v Patented Aug. 6,1872.

A. Mara-umosMM/e mm )1 (0550/11/55 P500535) UN TED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FREDERICK CURTIS, OF BOSTON, ASSIGNOR TO THE HODGES EDGE TRIM- MING ANDSETTING MACHINE ASSOCIATION, OF LYNN, MASS.

IMPROVEMENT IN MACHINES FOR BURNISHING THE EDGES 0F SOLES OF BOOTS ANDSHOES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 130,109, dated August6, 1872.

Specification describing certain Improveto and fro of an oscillatingswinging beam or ments in Machinery for Burnishing the Edges frame andcauses the said tool to reciprocate of the Soles or Heels of Boots andShoes, inin a given plane, or remains stationary upon vented byFREDEnIoK CURTIS, of Boston, in such beam while the tool vibrates uponthe the county of Sufiolk and Commonwealth of pivot which unites it withthe carriage, a com- Massachusetts. pound connecting-rod or series ofconnecting- These improvements are allied more or less rods and leversbeing so combined with the closely to the principle of a machine forlike carriage and with a suitable crank-motion and purposes shown anddescribed in Letters Patconnected with a hand-lever which operates outof the United States numbered 117,287, upon the said carriage that by aturning of and issued to Samuel H. Hodges, of Lynn, said lever either areciprocating,vibratory, or Massachusetts, on the 25th day of July, 1871compound motion maybe imparted to the tool, that is to say, my presentmachine comprises, as circumstances or desire may dictate. like that,the elementary features of a jack or The drawing accompanying thisspecificadevice for supporting the boot, and the combition represents,in Figure 1, a plan; in Fig. 2, a nation therewith of mechanism forsupporting side elevation; in Fig. 3, a front-end view of and operatinga burnishing-tool, so organized a machine embodying my invention. Fig. 4that said tool, whether itself, the jack, or both, is an opposite sideview of the oscillating move with a resulting polishing action upon beamG, to be explained. the sole or heel edge. The drawing accompanying thisspecifica- Heretofore, in machinery for setting soletion represents, atA, a jack of any suitable edges the burnishing-tool has been a rotarycharacter for properly supporting a boot or one, but I have found thatfor certain grades shoe while the sole of the latter is being operofwork, and the better to adapt the tool to ated upon, this jack beingmounted in an adthe irregular curvature and angle of the sole justablemanner upon the top of a curved or heel, a reciprocating or vibratorymotion standard, B, which standard is in turn swivof the tool ispreferable; and in order to careled upon the top of a table or platform,0, ry out the purposes of my invention by so duly supported upon the topof two swinging adapting said burnishing-tool that while travor rockingstandards, D D, whereby the jack eling about the circumference of thesole it and the boot carried by it may be advanced shall act thereuponwith areciprocating or vito or removed from the burnishing-tool. Inbratory motion I have devised the following rear of the rocking table 0I erect, upon the mechanism, in which I have so arranged defloor of theapartment containing the machine, tails as to instantly bring intoaction either a or upon the base of such machine, two upright tool whichreciprocates to and fro of aright or standards, E E, and between thesestandards curved line, or vibrates upon its own pivot, or I mount anupright swinging or rocking standboth reciprocates and vibrates,substantially ard or frame, F, to the upper part of which as hereinafterexplained, the novelty in the frame I pivot, by a stud, a, a horizontal,flexinvention consisting in the adoption, in conible, or swinging arm orbeam, G, which pronection with a boot-supporting jack, of a burjectsforward toward the jack, this beam benishing-tool so mounted as to actupon the ing balanced or overbalanced in any suitable entire sole-edgewith polishing effect, resultmanner in order to relieve the operator ofing from a reciprocating or vibratory, or comthe labor of supporting itsweight, the standpound reciprocating and vibratory motions. ard E beingprovided with oppositely-disposed To this end, and in pursuance of theobject of springs 11 H or their equivalents, whereby it my invention inone manner in which the same is held in any position in which it may beleft. may be eflected, I employ, as herein shown, The burnishing orsetting tool is shown at c first, a jack of proper construction forsupportin the drawing as an oblong bar pivoted pracing the boot or shoeand advancing to the imtically at about its center to one side of amediate vicinity of the burnishing or setgrooved block or carriage, d,which is mountting tool and, second, a burnishing-tool ed upon the outerend of the beam G before swiveled upon a carriage which either slidesnamed, the lower end of the said bar being fashioned into the requisiteform to obtain the desired outline to the'sole-edge. In order to vibrateor rock the tool 0 upon its pivot while the carriage d is stationary orreciprocating with short intermittent movements, I fulcrum at about itscenter a long upright lever, c, to the side of the standard E, theoscillations of this lever upon its fulcrum f being induced byconnecting its lower end to the wrist-pin g of a crank or crank-wheel,h, aflixed to the end of a horizontal shaft, '5, mounted in a suitablestandard, j, erected between the standards E E before named, the upperend of the said lever being connected to the rear end of a pitman, k,which lies alongside of the beam G and follows its vertical swingingmotions. The front end of the pitman 7c is fashioned into a link-head,l, formed with an upper and lower link, on and n, the former of whichembraces at all times a lateral stud, 0, projecting from the adjacentside of the upper end of the bar or tool 0, while the lower link 02.operates in connection with a second lateral stud, 0, projecting fromthe opposite side of the tool 0 to embrace, when lowered, said stud 0,and when elevated to be removed from contact therewith. Upon theopposite side of the carriage d I form or apply a fork or recessedplate, 1;, the opening q of which expands at its upper part, while infront of this fork I pivot, by a stud or jourrial, a, to the front endof the beam G, the front extremity of an arm, q, the rear extremity ofsuch arm bearing a lateral stud, 1', which coincides with and enters,when depressed, the fork p, and either locks the carriage d to the beamG or compels it to reciprocate in very short movements thereupon,according to which part of the flaring recess 1 the stud remains in, thepivot of the arm q being provided with a knob or handle, 8, by which theoperator may'instantly and readily elevate or depress its free end, andthus adjust the position of the carriage 01 upon the beam G. In orderthat, with the descent of the arm q in the act of partially or entirelylocking the carriage d to the beam Gr, as last stated, the link a shallbe elevated from contact with the stud 0, and thus permit the vibrationof the lever 0 through the agency of the pitman k to reciprocate thesaid carriage 01 upon the beam G, I make use of the followingcompound-lever motion-that is to say, I affix to the outer end of thestud a an upright arm, t, to the upper end of which arm I pivot oneextremity of a pitman, u, the opposite termination of which is pivotedto the lower end of an arm, 0;, which is affixed to and depends from ahorizontal transverse rockshaft, w, mounted in the upper part of anupright post, or, erected upon the beam G at about its center, while tothe opposite end of such rock-shaft I affix a horizontal arm, 3 to therear or free end of which arm I pivot the upper extremity of an uprightlink or pitman, z, the lower end of this pitman 2 being pivoted to thepitman is, before named, at about the center of the latter.

The above constitutes the mechanical elements of a machine for carryingout in one manner the purpose of these improvements. The variabletransverse movements of the jack are for the purposes, as before stated,of advancin g the work to the burnishiug-tool, while the longitudinaland vertical freedom of motion of the standard a and beam G are for thepurpose of presenting the burnishing-tool to the sole-edge andcompelling such toolto travel about the entire circumference of suchsole or of the heel, the motions of the burnishing-tool, whethervibratory, reciprocating, or compound, acting upon the leather with theproper polishin g action.

If desirable, however, may be imparted to the beam the lateral motions Gin lieu of the jack, and the latter swing backward and forward; and forthis purpose the arm G may be applied to the standard E by means of aballand-socket or other joint.

The operation of the details of mechanism which connect with and actuatetheburnishin g is as'follows: If the operator desires a vibratory orcompound motion of the burnishingtool he seizes the knob s, and, bymeans of it, depresses the arm q and lowers the stud 1' of the latterinto the flaring opening q of the forked or recessed plate 19' beforenamed as constituting part of the carriage 01, thus locking the saidcarriage rigidly to the beam G, or allowing it to reciprocate thereuponwith very short reciprocations, according to the depth with which thestud r enters the opening q, it being understood that such stud is of asize to entirely fill the lower termination of said opening in order toeffect the said rigid connection. Simultaneously with the descent of thearm q and the partial or entire locking of the carriage d to the beamGr, as last stated, the head of the pitman 7c is elevated and its linkor notch or removed from contact with the stud 0, this elevation of thepitman being effected by the arm t, pitman to, arm 0), shaft w, arm y,pitmen z and k, and lever e, hereinbefore explained, in manner as willat once be apparent to the observer. If a reciprocating motion of theburnishing-tool to and fro of the beam G is desired the operator hasonly to remove the motion of the knob or handle 8, which has the effect,through the agency above named, of freeing the arm q from the carriaged, thus allowin g the latter to slide upon the beam Gr, and, at the sametime, of depressing the pitmanhead I and compelling it to embracetightly both studs 0 0 of the tool 0, by this means locking the latterrigidly to the carriage and forcing it to travel with it, as, by thisdepression of the pitman-head, the oscillating-link motion becomes, bythe change of position of the arm q, transformed into a rigidconnection, which, as stated, compels the carriage, freed from thecontrol of such arm, (which confined it to the beam,) to traverse thelatter with intermittent reciprocations.

The burnishing-tool 0 can be made in various forms-as, for instance,present general shape,

both its ends, in its may be wrought into the desired polishing-surfaceor it may be a many-sided block, bearing upon one or all its faces thedesired configuration in varied sizes or character.

I do not, in any sense, limit myself to the herein-described details ofmechanism for imparting the desired motions to the burnishingtool, asthese may be varied to a very great extent by any good mechanic withoutdeparting from what I believe to be the novel features in myinvention,which is the employment, in a machine for traversing and polishing theedge of boot and shoe soles, of atool to which reciprocating, vibratory,or compound motions may be imparted.

I therefore claim as of my exclusive invention the following, to wit:

1. In; machinery for traversing and burnishing or setting the edges ofboot and shoe soles, a burnishing or setting tool to whichreciprocating, vibratory, or compound motions are imparted,substantially in manner and to produce results herein stated.

2. The combination, with the boot support or jack for holdingthe workand presentin git to the burnisher, of a burnishing-tool carried by aflexible or jointed frame, and arranged and operated so as to haveimparted to it reciprocating, vibratory, or compound motions,substantially as and for the purposes herein shown and described.

3. In machinery for burnishing sole-edges, the combination, with theburnishing-tool, whereby the movement of said tool may be changedexpeditiously from a vibratory to a reciprocating motion, or vice versa,as set forth.

4. The combination of the beam G, carriage d, tool 0, pitman k with itshead 6 fashioned as stated, and the arm q, the arrangement and operationof such parts being substantially as hereinbefore stated.

5. In combination, the standard E, beam G, carriage d, and the pitman k,and arm q, or their equivalents, essentially as and for the purposesstated.

FRED. CURTIS.

Witnesses:

W. E. BOARDMAN, E. G. PINKHAM.

